This was very basic. I let my beans soak over night and they were done in about 1 hour on top of the stove. Not sure what 6 hours would have done for them. They were almost too mushy at 1 hour. These do need lots of salt at the end but I like the simpleness and no fuss of these beans. Will make again tweaking just a bit.

Reviewer:

I can't imagine anyone eating this soup as it is. It tasted like beans floating in ketchup water. I added celery, potato, barley, bay leaf, thyme, basil, garlic, bullion powder, cabbage, condensed tomato soup and Mrs. Dash. Even at that it is still watery. I'm hoping that after simmering all day it will have some taste by dinner time.

Reviewer:

Great recipe! I have made it many times. It's a low-calorie lunch for me since I'm dieting and it does fill you up. Changes: I substituted 4 cans of beans instead of the dried ones. It speeds things along a lot!! (Rinse the beans off after dumping out of the can.) I also substituted chicken broth for water and added a couple of ham hocks for a smokier flavor. (I remove those after cooking.) It really is a great recipe as is and I would still give it 5 stars as written.

Reviewer:

I've actually made this before, minus the carrots and ketchup. I guess was a staple of larger families of the depression or later, as my family & inlaws had it on a regular basis. What we have done also, is made corn bread to put into soup as we are eating it.

Reviewer:

This is a very good bean soup. I had a ham bone with meat on it in the freezer so I just threw that in with the beans. Came out great. I served with Indian Fry Bread. Yum. Great meal for a cold winter day! Thanks for the recipe.

Reviewer:

I made this in the crock-pot. Used dry beans, 3 cans of chicken broth and 3 cups of water for flavor since I didn't have any ham. Did not precook/ soak the beans, just rinsed them and put them in. Cooked on high for 6 hours and low for about an hour. They came out great ! I was worried they would not get done without the first step, but they were nice and tender. Thanks for sharing !

Reviewer:

As a vegetarian I used Morningstar Farms bacon instead of ham to give it a smokey flavor. I just diced it up and added it halfway through. Seriously, it was delicious. I also added a half of a can of tomato sauce and a teaspoon of sugar instead of ketchup.